Common Assault Case Studies

O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors are expert assault lawyers. We have represented clients across a large variety of common assault cases. We have assisted clients in Local Court trials, District Court jury trials and sentencing hearings.

Here are a number of successful cases where O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors have secured a favourable result for our clients.

Client accidentally swung a bag, which contained a small bottle inside, at his daughter. It collided with his daughter’s mouth which caused her upper lead to bleed. He was charged with assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The defence assisted in tendering a number of character references. The charges were dismissed.

DS – Good behaviour bond given to client who panicked when he was locked inside a taxi

DS was riding in a Taxi with a friend when the driver locked the doors thinking that they would flee without paying. This caused DS to panic, argue with the driver and eventually punching the driver. DS was charged with common assault to which he pleaded guilty to. We successfully represented DS in his sentencing hearing where he was given a good behaviour bond.

JXP – Guilty plea to common assault with no conviction imposed at court

JXP was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm after spontaneously and impulsively punching his 15 year old son. JXP was a lawyer and could not risk having a criminal conviction. We helped JXP enter into a plea negotiation where he would enter a peal of guilty to a lesser charge of common assault. Psychiatric material was presented that showed that JXP was a loving and caring father, that there was no history of physical abuse, and that it was unlikely that he was going to conduct himself in that fashion again. Taking this into consideration, the Magistrate imposed no conviction and placed him on a good behaviour bond.

SB– Good character references assist client in getting charge dismissed

SB was charged with common assault after he grabbed and pushed another man within his community. During his sentencing hearing the Magistrate heard in great detail about the significant role that SB had performed in his community. The charge was dismissed without a conviction.

BPR approached the complainant who was causing a loud commotion outside her unit. She began arguing with the complainant before fetching a bedpost and trying to get the complainant to leave. The police charged her with affray, common assault and being armed with an intention to commit a serious indictable offence. We helped BPR have the latter two charges withdrawn by the police. BPR pleaded guilty to common assault and with our assistance, she was sentenced to a good behaviour bond.

MGB got into an argument with the complainant. MGB ended up hitting and pushing the complainant. He was charged with two counts of common assault. We negotiated with the police on MGB’s behalf in order to get one of the assault charges dropped if he pleaded guilty to the other. No conviction was recorded for the other charge.

DGM was urinating on the road outside a pub to which the complainant alerted the security guard. DMG was escorted from the premises. He returned to the premises and punched the complainant. Police arrested, detained and charged him with escaping police custody, common assault and behaving in an offensive manner in a public space. We negotiated with the police on his behalf to get the charge of escaping police custody dropped. DGM was fined and sentenced to a good behaviour bond.

TRE slammed a door on the complainant’s arm and physically assaulted her. He was charged with two counts of common assault. O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors defended the charges by arguing that TRE’s homelessness and long history of petty crime meant that it would be more appropriate to have an AVO served. The police accepted this and withdraw the charges against him.

Our client was charged with two counts of common assault and was under threat of an AVO after an extended altercation with his partner. We represented WZP in a successful plea negotiation which resulted in all but one of the common assault charges withdrawn.

Following a confused altercation in a café, YRW was found guilty of common assault by the Local Court. We represented YRW in his appeal and we were able to reduce his sentence to only a conviction with no other penalty.

BDI– Plea negotiation after client was charged with common assault and robbery

BDI was arrested and charged with common assault and robbery of a cleaner at a shopping centre. We engaged in a successful plea negotiation on behalf of BDI which resulted in the robbery charges being withdrawn. Our client pleaded guilty to the charge of common assault, and was sentenced to a good behaviour bond.

DLO – Client given relatively light sentences after being found guilty of various charges

Charges were laid against DLO for numerous property damage offences including assault and offensive language. Although DLO was found guilty of all charges, we successfully represented him in his sentencing hearing where he was given relatively light sentences. At the conclusion of his case, the only action DLO had to take was to pay a fine.

PYK– Client acquitted of all charges after defence raises doubt in prosecution’s case

Our client was charged with common assault following an altercation with his neighbour during a party. We represented PYK in his trial where we successfully raised doubt in the prosecution’s case. We argued that the neighbour pulled out a knife against him, and so he acted in self-defence. As there was doubt about whether or not PYK had in fact acted in self-defence, he was acquitted of his charges.

EPH and the victim were arguing on their way to EPH’s place. During the course of this disagreement, EPH pushed the victim backwards causing her to fall back onto the ground. We represented EPH in a plea negotiation prior to the case going to trial. EPH pleaded guilty to common assault, with the other charges dropped. The court delivered a non-conviction order on the condition that EPH enter into a good behaviour bond.

It was alleged that following a meeting at Redfern Town Hall AW followed the victim out of the hall, and pushed the victim in the chest area and into the open lift. We represented AW in this matter where she was found not guilty of the common assault.

NK – NK given a good behaviour bond and fine for common assault and resisting an officer

NK’s friend had a minor disagreement with the victim before NK punched the victim in the head. He fled the scene but was later located by the police and was arrested. He was charged with affray, common assault and resisting an officer in the execution of their duty. The first charge was withdrawn, and NK was given a good behaviour bond and fine for the other two charges.

JK– Knife charge dismissed, court orders suspended sentence and community sentence order for other charge

JK was involved in two incidents involving the assault of two different victims. It was alleged that the second incident involved a small knife. We represented JK during his hearing where we successfully got the charge of possession of a knife in public dismissed. In relation to the first incident, JK received a suspended sentence and a community service order.

RW was charged with an assault on a 15 year old boy after punching the victim in the face. He pleaded guilty to the charge but argued that he was provoked by the ongoing conduct of the victim, where it was alleged that the victim had sexually interfered his 15 year old daughter. The Court considered the significant degree of provocation and dismissed the matter under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act.

DT – No conviction recorded for client after altercation with minor on a bus

DT was charged with common assault against a minor after an altercation occurred on a bus. It was alleged that he had slapped the minor when the minor prevented him from sitting on a vacant seat on the bus. However, he told police that he had confronted the minor but never slapped him. During his trial, the Magistrate found that there had been an assault because the minor was put in fear due to the confrontation. However, there had been no physical contact and so the Magistrate ordered that no conviction be recorded.

AQ was charged with common assault following a domestic incident with his partner. AQ denied that he had assaulted his partner and entered a plea of not guilty. The charge was dismissed.

SAF – Successful defence of self-defence run results in charges against client being dismissed

SAF was involved in an argument with his flatmate. The flatmate started punching SAF, and in self defence, SAF picked up a mug and hit the flatmate over the head with it. The flatmate’s girlfriend, the victim, attempted to separate the parties but in the course of doing so was struck by SAF. The Magistrate before SAF determined that he had indeed acted in self defence against the flatmate and therefore was not guilty of assaulting the girlfriend as it was an accident. The charge was dismissed against him.

Our client was drinking when he became involved in a verbal argument with him and the victim. This resulted in him punching the victim numerous times in the face. It was alleged that when the security officer intervened JC also assaulted the security officer. At his sentencing hearing we presented JC’s case as a person of good character, his strong family support and his remorse. The Local Court Magistrate conditionally dismissed the charge without recording a conviction.

CU was accused of hitting a motorist on the side of the head with his motorcycle helmet during a physical altercation. We assisted CU in getting the charges dismissed by successfully running a self-defence argument.

RO was charged with two counts of common assault after attempting to break up a loud argument outside his house by using physical violence. Whilst he was found guilty of the two charges, we helped RO avoid a conviction and he was immediately discharged on the condition that he enter into a good behaviour bond.

JF was charged with one count of common assault while being involved with a disagreement with the victim. We successfully helped the client avoid a conviction where he entered into a good behaviour bond.